Ethereum challenges Bitcoin, could replace Uber

This year has been a positive era for Bitcoin, it recorded its highest price ever, a major disappointment from the SEC for No. 1 Bitcoin fans the Winkelvoss twins, and, for a moment, a value higher than gold.

But the prominence of Bitcoin could be challenge by another cryptocurrency that has been quietly growing in volume while everyone was focused on Bitcoin.

The Ethereum, which is kind of like Bitcoin but slightly nerdier and more complicated, edged up against Bitcoin in its daily volume earlier this month.

In layman’s term, Bitcoin is much bigger in terms of monetary value, but Ethereum is being used so much that it’s facilitating nearly as much business.

For quite some time, people has been more familiar Bitcoin than other digital currency suh as Ethereum. It can be supported by a brief unscientific survey of the European-based media, it appears that approximately no one outside the cryptocurrency loop knows what Ethereum is.

Ethereum is a decentralized application that supports a cryptocurrency, or digital currency, just like Bitcoin.

Consumers can utilized Ethereum as a payment for things online, trade money, and buy and sell anywhere that accepts it.

The cryptocurrency, called ether, runs on a “smart contract.” The smart contract is a blockchain technology and “if:then” system that allows Ethereum to be traded if a certain condition is met.

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Furthermore, Bitcoin runs on the blockchain (a distributed, decentralized ledger of transactions) too, but it doesn’t involve the extra step of a smart contract.

Explaining more on Blockchain, it is a distributed ledger where all of Bitcoin’s — and Ethereum’s — transactions are recorded. It’s totally decentralized, which means it’s not run by any one person or company.

Ethereum’s cryptocurrency is just like Bitcoin with a few extra features, including a smart contract means that you can use Ethereum to do more than just pay for something. If you want to place a bet on the Super Bowl, for example, you could use Ethereum to pay only if the Patriots win.

According to The Huffington Post, an if:then tool has bigger applications that just gambling. You could set up a crowdfunding campaign using Ethereum, that would only take your money if a project’s goal was met — without the fees charged by Kickstarter or GoFundMe.

“Things are possible with Ethereum that aren’t imaginable with any other technology today,” the publication noted.

The smart contract could even replace lawyers, CEOs and companies.

“You don’t need to have Uber, the company, anymore,” said Benedikt Bunz, a Ph.D. student at Stanford who studies cryptocurrencies.

“You could have the Uber contract handle the money and do the payouts,: Bunz added.

Meanwhile, a lot of Newsgru’s readers are asking who are using the Ethereum and how can they avail it? The users of Ethereum is just like the line of people patronizing Bitcoin, but the Ethereum still in the experimental stage.

In order to avail, getting started with cryptocurrencies is a whole thing — you need an account, for instance, but a good place to start is Coinbase.

As of Thursday (March 23), a single Bitcoin is really expensive: it was valued at $1,050. Ethereum isn’t nearly as pricy by unit. Its value hovered around $41.

In the end, Ethereum is a useful cryptocurrency wherein developers can use this to build apps that take advantage of its smart contract technology. A few cool ones support microfinance, build virtual worlds and prevent identity theft.